The Little Pill

“Pill time.”

He said under his breath. Three seconds later the whining alarm sounded and Sandy rushed to turn it off. Dick didn’t look up from his newspaper as he unscrewed the cap and popped two tiny blues in his mouth. Washed it down with the last of his afternoon coffee from the Universal Community Bank mug he’d gotten from the raffle in 1995. He’d been using it everyday since. It went in the dishwasher on Friday nights, which was the night they ran the dishwasher. In 2012 it cracked when Sandy dropped it on the front porch. She should have never been using it in the first place. The crack never got any worse which had bothered him at first, but over the years he’d let it go.

These were the second to last pills of the day. He looked down at his watch.

“What time are we having dinner with your brother on Sunday?”

“It’s not dinner, it's a late lunch, and it’s on Saturday and I’ve told you three times. And it’s on the calendars.”

She was searching for the remote in the couch cushions without any luck as she spoke.

He went to the refrigerator and there it was written in red sharpie. Well, it wasn’t on the calendar in the bedroom then. That was the one he looked at most, she knew this. He went to the bedroom, but she had written it there too. Finally he crossed to the front door and looked and saw it there.

“You hung this calendar too high, why did you do a thing like that?”

He asked.

“It’s at a good height for me. Just use one of the other calendars if it bothers you.”

“So you hung it that high on purpose.”

“No Dick, I did not hang it on purpose too high up for you. I hung it at a comfortable height for me on purpose.”

“If lunch with Thom is at three, that doesn’t give me much time.”

“Time for what?”

“To call the insurance place.”

“They’re open all the time. And why do you need to call them on a Saturday?”

“We need to call them everyday. The check isn’t here yet.”

“They just sent the check.”

“Well, until I have the money in my hands it’s not over. I need to call them.”

Through the screen door he watched someone approach. The mail came so late these days. It wasn’t Marcus, he didn’t recognize this new person. He hadn’t told this person yet, about the accident.

“See that, see the crack in my tire rim?”

The person looked to where Dick was pointing and pushed their sunglasses up on their face.

“I sure do.”

“She came out of nowhere. And just like that, she hit us. Pulled out so fast she cracked the tire rim. Just like that. ”

The mail carrier stood with one foot on the step, one dangling off behind them.

“That’s just terrible. Yep, people don’t know how to drive.”

“Exactly! And she was a young woman of course. They just don’t care. They just don’t care.”

Dick snapped. The carrier was maybe thirty years old at most. They mumbled a goodbye and waved as they retreated.

____________________

The schedule on Saturday left no room for error. He’d have to call the insurance company first thing, then his doctor appointment was at ten. Then he’d have to wait around to have his prescription filled, then he’d have to go pick up Sandy, then he’d have to go to that late lunch. It was bound to be exhausting.

He took his first pills of the day right on time, the big reds, and then waited on hold with the insurance company for half an hour.

His spiral notebook with all the various bits of information he had been given over the last two weeks was fraying at the edges. The at fault driver was in a black car, she had been wearing a white denim jacket. But the insurance company wouldn’t tell him much else. He didn’t know where she lived, or how young she was. Whether or not she had a job, what she had said about the incident.

“She probably tried to say it was our fault. Or that nothing happened at all.”

He has said to the first person he had spoken to. No, she had told the same story he had. The process went off without a hitch. Dick couldn’t help but be a little perturbed.

When that girl had stepped out of the car at the scene, he didn’t think she knew how to speak English.

The hold music stopped and he heard the sound of the connection going through.

Finally a real person. But the real people sometimes knew less than the robot ones did.

“I haven’t received the check yet. They said five business days when I called last time.”

“It’s seven to ten business days, Sir. Let me just check the status. Can you confirm your last name for me one more time?”

“My name is Richard C. Lawrence. My wife’s name is Sandra E. Lawrence. The other party is named Dang something. I don’t know how to say this. It’s an Asian name.”

“One moment while I pull up the details.”

“Dang Nguyen. She is Vietnamese. I knew it, I told you. Remember I told you?”

Sandy called out from the bathroom down the hall.

“What the hell does it matter if she’s Vietnamese, Chinese, or she’s from Korea or wherever. She’s a damned idiot.”

“You can’t say that when you talk to them on the phone.”

He paused. The muzak was playing audibly. A trombone heavy warped version of ‘Tequila’.

“Why in Christ’s name would you think I would say something like that to them?”

“Hello. Mr. Lawrence? Mr. Lawrence are you there? Just one more moment.”

Sandy called out to him again,

“Her name is Dang Nguyen. We’ve been over that Dick. It’s a very common last name.”

“Whatever.”

He muttered. The line was quiet as the person was pulling up the information on their computer.

Dick made sure to sigh as heavily as he could while he waited for them. The second sigh turned into a coughing fit that he directed into the phone.

“Sir, the check is out for delivery today. It should arrive by three this afternoon.”

After the call he told Sandy to be on the lookout for the UPS truck. She was already getting ready for lunch, comparing a few large stoned necklaces in the mirror. A lime green beaded one was already there, disappearing into the folds of her neck. He felt a little chill run up his arm. He tried to not let it show on his face when she turned to face him.

“This whole claim thing worked out so smoothly don’t you think?”

“We should have never had to deal with it in the first place. And she should have to pay. The girl. Not a cent comes out of her pocket. Not a scratch on her car.”

“What does it matter? We’re getting the check today.”

“It will probably be riddled with mistakes. Or they’ve been lying to us and it will be for the wrong amount. Just you wait.”

And with that he headed out the door and drove across town to the doctor’s office.

Things did not go to plan there. Dr. Masterson was out and Dick was stuck with some young man he didn’t know. When it came to the time for negotiation, to try and get a prescription to help his back pain, this new doctor, Dr. Sanming, would not budge.

Dick's bones were small and fragile. That was all where the need for the first pill started. His bones had pained him, they’d pained him everyday of his life. No one other than Dick knew this feeling, he was absolutely positive.

A year after he started taking the little blue pills for his bones, Sundance died. No more going for a walk at seven, letting Sundance out at two and six, no more filling the foodbowl in the mornings and evenings. No more vet appointments or trips to the park.

After Sundance they didn’t get another dog. And he had digestion problems so he got the big red pills for that. Then he needed the odd shaped purple ones for his headaches.

And ever since the accident, his back started to pain him, especially at night. He would lie there looking at the ceiling and go over the details of what had happened. He’d lost a lot of sleep.

At first he thought he could have been injured in the accident. But Sandy had laughed and laughed when he suggested it in a way that made him feel too sheepish to ever bring it up again.

“The car was barely moving!”

She had exclaimed in between her bellows.

Today he was going to get something for his back. But the doctor was asking so many questions. Asking about his lifestyle and his habits. Dick tried to explain where it all began. The accident.

“She came out of nowhere and then, bam, my tire rim just completely ruined.”

“That’s too bad Mr. Lawrence. Stress can certainly cause pain like your back pain to worsen.”

“Damn right. So tell me straight. What are we going to do about this?”

“You need to take better care of yourself. Just try stretching, even five minutes a day can make a big difference. I have some pamphlets on morning and evening routines for seniors. Would you like to take some home?”

“I don’t need any damn pamphlets. And I don’t need anyone telling me nonsense about how to take care of myself. I’ve been taking care of myself for sixty seven years. I don’t have time for this.”

“I’m not giving you a prescription. You can take Tylenol or ibuprofen a few times a week.”

“Well, won’t that interact negatively with my other medications?”

Dr. Sanming’s eyes flicked down to the clipboard and back at him.

“No.”

Dick held the door for a woman coming in as he was going out. She walked into the waiting room without even looking at him. From outside the glass Dick watched her in disbelief.

“You’re welcome!”

He shouted at the closed glass doors. He looked around the parking lot, hoping that there had been a witness to the woman’s rude act. Shoulders caved, he retreated to the car, and, like every time he approached his car now, he paused to assess the cracked tire rim. It looked like there was a new spot. He took his finger to it and to his disappointment found that it was a speck of dirt.

________________

“We’re going to be late.”

There were thick clumps of brown goop on Sandy’s thin eyelashes. He thought it clashed in an obvious way with the rest of her. And she had put something on her bobbed wig that smelled horribly similar to paint thinner.

“We are not going to be late.”

The envelope containing the check looked like any other. He carefully peeled it open and looked over the check. It was a wide light green color. And it was filled out correctly. The amount, the date, his and Sandy’s name. Everything.

“It’s over.”

Dick said to himself. He put it back in the envelope and into his pocket. His chest felt heavy and thick as he drove them to the restaurant. Five minutes from their destination, he realized,

“I forgot to bring my blood pressure pills. I guess I’ll just be late today. It’s that insurance business. Got me all messed up and I forgot.”

“We won’t be that long. I think it’s okay if one day you take it a little later than normal.”

Sandy replied looking blankly out the window.

He whipped around the corner into the plaza lot. He beeped furiously at a fancy new car that was taking too long to park and blocking their way forward.

“Dick, stop that!”

Sandy cried louder than she normally would.

The car parked and from it emerged Sandy's brother Thom. Dick pulled in a few spots away and Sandy rushed from the car and into her brother’s bear sized arms. Dick futzed with his wallet and the keys before getting out and locking it.

“Someone havin’ a rough day there Dick?”

Thom said, looking down and smiling at him.

“That’s a shiny new car you have there.”

Dick muttered, trying to deflect.

Sandy held Thom’s hand as they walked inside with Dick trailing a few extra paces behind them. They were seated quickly. The waitress, a petite older blonde who spoke too loudly, actually winked at Thom after she took his drink order. She did smile at Sandy, but she did not smile at Dick.

Dick ate his salad in small bites while he listened to Thom’s insipid recounting of his trip to Maui.

“The beaches sound just lovely Thom, just lovely.”

Sandy held Thom’s phone in her haggard swollen hands as she scrolled through photos.

“And the nature is great. I mean, it was a little spooky to be back in a rainforest type of thing. I hadn’t seen anything like it since the war. Fifty some odd years ago. Jeez.”

Vietnam. Thom or Sandy always brought it up. Nothing annoyed Dick more. Dick had not fought in Vietnam or any war. He was reminded of that his whole life. Everyone and everything was always reminding him of it.

“I was listening to a program the other day that was talking about Sapa. Chapa. I’m not sure how to say it. Were you ever there Thom? It sounds like a very interesting city.”

Before Thom had a chance to respond, an anchovy went down the wrong part of Dick’s windpipe and he was sent into a fit. Thom handed him an extra napkin which Dick was able to spit the undigested fish into.

“It’s because you take such small bites and you don’t chew them properly.”

Sandy hissed.

“Happens to everyone from time to time. Hell, I choked on a walnut in some banana bread I had over there. You wouldn’t believe how good the banana bread is in Hawaii. Rivals our Momma’s even.”

Thom smiled, and Dick put down the napkin, but Sandy wasn’t finished. She turned her whole freight sized body towards Dick and asked,

“What was it your mother used to call you? Birdie?”

Everyone laughed except for Dick. Sandy was delivering a low blow and she knew it. His mother had mocked his size. Later, when she was wasting away in that home in Clarkston, she made her confession. She called him her Baby Birdie because she thought he’d grow big and strong one day. She believed that one day he’d be as tall as his fallen daddy was. Instead, at sixteen he hit five foot four and then everything stopped, his bones too. He remained as small framed as the young teenage girls around him who would never give him the time of day.

Dick didn’t say much the rest of lunch and tried to tune out all their conversation by concentrating on chewing his food exactly forty times each.

In the parking lot, even though he was itching to get home, Dick realized they hadn’t yet told Thom about the accident. He quickly relayed the story and Thom looked at the car.

“Well, where’s the damage?”

He asked Dick.

“Here, see the crack?"

“That’s nothing, you could drive on that forever. Hey, I know a guy who works over at that tire place on State. I bet he’d give you a new rim for cheap and I could help install it.”

“The insurance company already gave us a check. We have an appointment to get it fixed.”

Sandy said in a low growl, as though this fact was shameful and something Dick ought to be blamed for.

“It was the other driver, some young girl, it was her fault. She did it. She came out of nowhere. It’s only right that she pay.”

Dick’s breath sounded shallow and he took a moment to try to deepen it. Thom shrugged as he touched his shoe to the rim and said.

“Seems like it wasn’t that big of a deal to me. But to each their own.”

It was a big deal. It was not right to call it anything else. Dick got light in the head and then the next thing he knew he was being picked up from the parking lot pavement and placed into the back of an ambulance.

He closed his eyes and let his head go limp on the stiff bed. The EMT on his right was taking his vitals and seemed calmer than he ought to be.

“I think you just had a little panic attack. It happens. We’ll get you some electrolytes and you’ll be right as rain. I forget to drink water sometimes too.”

Dick sat up and stared at them in disbelief. People could be so stupid. Right before he fainted again, he sat up and told them with conviction,

“No, that’s not it. It wasn’t because of water. It’s because I forgot to take my pill.”